When lighting for motion pictures, it is desirable to modify the light for a given shot to obtain a desired lighting effect which gives the film its “look” or aesthetic. Lighting configurations are used for the filming of images to create a scene in a film, as light is the fundamental agent of imprinting these images on the film or the digital camera sensor and on the viewer's eye. These configurations mostly involve the enhancing, creation, or modification of darkness in various ambient low light conditions, whether artificial or natural shadow in alleyways, or a night street rendered in a large film studio. These configurations also may include the manipulation and enhancement of light derived from a variety of light sources, which may be natural, artificial or a combination of both, such as a large spotlight on an actor playing a role in the Sonora Desert.
A scene in a motion picture is lit by adding, shining, or directing light onto the area that makes up the frame of the scene being filmed, the “shot.” It is common to use LED lights. As LED lights are becoming smaller and brighter, they become less well suited to film and TV shoots, which prefer larger soft light sources. Therefore, it is desirable to convert the small, bright LED light source to create a larger, softer light.
One prior art approach to convert the beam of light that a small bright LED fixture puts out into a large softer source is for technicians to project the beam of light onto a frame larger than the source. Typically, the frame would be covered in diffusion cloth which is often placed 6″ to 24″ from the light. By doing this the desired larger softer source is created from the smaller, brighter LED fixture. The disadvantage of this approach is that the detached frame is cumbersome and requires extra work for assembly and disassembly. Extra stands, rigging and other gear are required, and another detached moving part is introduced which is not physically connected to the light fixture.
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a lightweight but strong extension housing device that can be attached to any light fixture typically used in film and television lighting, thereby reducing work, time, and equipment requirement.